xvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5305W)
EPA530-F-96-003
March T 996
Office of Solid Waste
Environmental
Fact Sheet
REVISED TECHNICAL STANDARDS PROPOSED FOR
HAZARDOUS WASTE COMBUSTION FACILITIES
In an effort to reduce hazardous air pollutants, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) proposes a revised set of emission standards for hazardous waste-
burning incinerators, cement kilns, and lightweight aggregate kilns. These standards
would significantly limit emissions of many hazardous air pollutants and would create
significant incentives for waste minimization.
Background
EPA is proposing this rule-under the joint authority of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Re-
source Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This proposal fulfills the Agency's commitment to
upgrade the emission standards for hazardous waste-burning facilities, as stated in its 1993 Hazard-
ous Waste Minimization and Combustion Strategy. It also advances the Agency's mission to promote
waste minimization. The three categories of facilities covered in this proposal burn more than 80
percent of the total amount of hazardous waste being combusted each year. (The remaining 15 to
20 percent is burned in industrial boilers and other types of industrial furnaces, which will be
addressed in a later rulemaking.) The proposed standards would achieve significant reductions in
some of the top priority pollutants for EPAdioxins and furans by 98 percent, mercury by 80
percent, cadmium and lead by 95 percent, and four other toxic metals by 87 percent.
Children exposed to lead can suffer from damage to the brain and central nervous system,
slowed growth, hyperactivity, and behavior and learning problems. Adults exposed to lead can
suffer difficulties during pregnancy, high blood pressure, nervous disorders, and memory and
concentration problems. Mercury exposure can lead to similar nervous system disorders, particu-
larly in newborn infants whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy. These toxic substances all
accumulate in the environment, leading to potential long-term health impacts.
This proposal establishes a common-sense approach that provides for coordinated CAA and
RCRA permitting of hazardous waste-burning facilities. In particular, the proposal ensures that
facilities will be able to avoid two potentially different regulatory compliance schemes by integrating
the monitoring, compliance testing, and recordkeeping requirements of the CAA and RCRA. It also
significantly promotes regional, state, and local agency flexibility by enabling them to coordinate
their resources for permitting, compliance, and enforcement efforts.
In developing jhis rule, EPA met with affected stakeholders to elicit their feedback on a wide
range of regulatory approaches. These groups include owners and operators of affected facilities,
environmental groups, citizens1 groups, nonprofit health organizations, and states.
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Action
The proposed, revised technical standards would limit emissions of dioxins and furans, mer-
cury, semi-volatile metals (cadmium and lead), low-volatile metals (arsenic, beryllium, chromium,
and' antimony), particulate matter, acid gas emissions (hydrochloric acid and chlorine), hydrocar-
bons, and carbon monoxide. The standards are based on Maximum Achievable Control Technolo-
gies (MACTs), an approach required by the CAA. MACT reflects the maximum degree of hazard-
ous air pollution reduction that can be achieved considering the availability, current use, costs,
benefits, and impacts of emissions control technologies.
Under this proposed rule, continuous emissions monitors (CEMs) would be required for par-
ticulate matter and mercury. Prior to this rule, CEMs were required to be installed at these facilities
for only carbon monoxide, total hydrocarbons and oxygen. In a related action, EPA is soliciting
vendor participation in a GEM demonstration program, which will provide further technical support
in the areas of commercial availability, performance, and reliability of these CEMs.
To provide regulatory relief to some facilities managing hazardous waste, the proposal contains
a "comparable fuels specification" that would potentially extend to any facility generating or manag-
ing hazardous waste destined for burning. This common sense approach would exclude from
regulation hazardous wastes that have the Same characteristics as fossil fuels, and that are burned
in lieu of fossil fuels. This exemption is expected to be an important element in the Agency's
overall effort to fine-tune RCRA's regulatory scope. This proposal would also change the current
"small quantity burner" exemption. Facilities that burn less than 27 gallons of hazardous waste per
month will continue to be exempt from regulation. In the past, facilities that burned up to 2,000
gallons, of hazardous waste per month were exempt.
EPA believes that this proposal will create significant incentives for waste minimization (source
reduction and recycling). In addition to creating regulatory-driven incentives to remove metals from
hazardous waste streams going to combustion facilities, the proposal specifically seeks to encourage
facilities to identify opportunities to use waste minimization to help achieve compliance with MACT
standards or. to achieve either the small quantity or comparable fuels exclusions. For example, the
proposal requests comment on whether facilities should be granted ah extra year to, come into
compliance with MACT standards if their waste minimization efforts need an extra year to be put
into place (thereby perhaps changing the types of facility modifications that would be needed for
compliance). Of the nearly four million tons of hazardous waste combusted annually, approxi-
mately 1.8 million tons were combusted at on-site facilities (i.e., the same facilities at which the
waste was generated). Combustion at an on-site facility presents a somewhat unique situation in
which facility owners and operators also have direct control over waste generation. Therefore, EPA
is targeting efforts to help ensure these facilities take steps to reduce the generation of waste at its
source and minimize the quantity ultimately burned.
Applicability .
This proposed rule would apply to hazardous waste incinerators, cement kilns, and lightweight
aggregate loins that burn hazardous waste as fuel.
Hazardous waste incinerators are enclosed, controlled flame combustion devices used prim-
arily to treat organic and/or aqueous wastes.
Cement kilns receive liquid hazardous waste to burn as fuel to run their cement processes.
Cement is produced by heating mixtures of limestone and other minerals or additives at
high temperatures in a rotary kiln, followed by cooling, grading, and finish mixing.
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Lightweight aggregate kilns produce lightweight aggregate and burn liquid hazardous waste
as fuel to run their processes. Lightweight aggregate refers to a wide variety of raw materials
(such as clay, shale, or slate) which, after thermal processing, can be combined with cement
to form concrete products. It is produced either for structural or thermal' insulation pur
poses.
Because the Agency believes that there will be potentially a large influx of RCRA permit modi-
fication requests resulting from requirements proposed in this notice, the Agency is considering
options that will streamline the RCRA permit modification process for these types of changes to
ensure that necessary modifications are made expeditiously.
For More Information
The Federal Register notice and this fact sheet are available in electronic format on the Internet
through the EPA Public Access Server. This fact sheet also is available through fax-on-demand.
The system can be accessed 24 hours a day. Call 202-651-2060, and follow the voice prompts.
(Be sure you know the document numbers for publications you want to order.) The service is free.
For additional information or to order paper copies of the Federal Register notice, call the
RCRA Hotline at 1-800-424-9346 (outside the Washington, D.C. area), or 703-412-9810 in the
Washington, D.C. area or TDD 1-800-553-7672 (hearing impaired). Copies of documents appli-
cable to this proposed rule may be obtained by writing: RCRA Information Center (RIG), U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Solid Waste (5305W), 401 M Street SW, Washington,
DC 20460.
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' . v . , ....; '.'.. .' ,-, . . ':'..:'=' EPA530-F-96-003 .-'
PROPOSED STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE INCINERATORS CEMENT KILNS, AND LWAKS
HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANT
Dioxin/Furans - ' ' .
(ng TEQ/dscm) . . ' . "
Mercury . ' "
(ug/dscm) . ,
Total CMorine (HC1 + C12) ' - '"
(ppmv).
"Semi- Volatile Metals (SVM) ' . : '. -''
(lead, cadmium) * - '*
(ug/dscm)
Low Volatility Metals (LVM) '."'"''
(antimony, arsenic,, beryllium, chromium)
.(ug/dscm) " '''"'
Particulate Matter (PM)
(gr/dscf)
Carbon Monoxide (CO)1 ' . . :
(ppmv) .-.-.'".' : ' "".'
Hydrocarbons (HC) ..'.'
(ppmv) '.-.-'' .'.'..
INCINERATORS
EXISTING
0.2- . .
50. - ';
280
270.
'210 . . '
0.030
(equal to 69 .'
mg/dscm)
;ioo '
12
-. :NEW '
0.2. '
.50 . '
67- . ;
62
60 '
0.030
100 ';
12 ,.
CEMENT KILNS
EXISTING
0.2 .
50
630
57 ' . ,-.
.-130 '
0.030
(equal to 69
mg/dscm) :.
Main Stack - not
applicable
Bypass-. 100
Main Stack - 20
Bypass -6.7.- '
-. NEW .;
,0:2 , . .
50 .
.157; ; '
.55.'-.
44 .'».'" .; : .'
0'.030
Main Stack '- not
applicable
Bypass - 100
Main Stack -20
Bypass -6.7
LIGHTWEIGHT AGG.
KILNS
EXISTING
0.2
72 ' - :
450
12 ; .
340.
0.030
(equal to 69
mg/dscm)
1.00
14 ' ..-'.-'
VNEW '-
0.2' ....
72' : .
"62 '-'
52'.
"55 '.'-:' '.-.. ''
0.030 .
100
14-
. Cement kilns with bypass stacks must comply with either'the Co or the.HC standard, in the bypass duct but not both.
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